Andy Griffith, as Sheriff Taylor, also has a brief comedy cameo in Rowan and Martin at the Movies (1969), a PSA short subject promoting the purchase of U.S. Savings Bonds.

Griffith appeared with costar Ron Howard in character as Andy and Opie Taylor in a 2008 commercial for the presidential campaign of Barack Obama.

In the backdoor pilot episode from The Danny Thomas Show, viewers learn Andy lost his wife when Opie was "the least little speck of a baby."

As sheriff, Andy is the chief law enforcement officer in the county, yet most of his activity is in and around the town of Mayberry, and there is no evidence of a separate city police force.

When they arrive, it is full daylight, so it could be inferred that Mayberry County is larger than originally thought and with mountainous areas, but sparsely populated.

One confusing aspect of Andy's authority, however, is his apparent subservience to the town mayor, a plot device which is utilized in several episodes throughout the course of the series - including Season 3's "The Cow Thief" - but which makes no sense in real life, since both are elected officials.

Also, the sixth-season episode, "Aunt Bee Takes a Job" with co-star Jack Burns, Andy fires a gun (which he borrows from Deputy Warren Ferguson) to disable a car in order to capture some criminals.

On the rare occasion he needed a weapon fast, he would grab a rifle or shotgun from the rack in his office or from his car.

One error here in Andy's community service is his being both the elected sheriff and a town council member; under North Carolina law he could not do both.

In another episode, Andy tells Barney that Aunt Bee is heavily against alcohol due to her brother's trouble with the bottle.

Andy is known to have shot only one man in his position as sheriff, which is the key event surrounding the episode High Noon in Mayberry.

In the episode "Aunt Bee Takes A Job," Andy grabs Warren's pistol and fires it in pursuit of two counterfeiters on their vehicle as they are attempting to flee.

Early shows depict Andy as having a naïve demeanor and "aw-shucks" personality with home-spun humor which, actually, cover a wise and insightful outlook into people and situations, sometimes catching those who misjudge his intelligence off guard.

Andy’s initial “aw-shucks” persona evolves during the late 1st and early 2nd seasons into moral no-nonsense, albeit easy-going charter traits, which serve in mediation for the problems of other sitcom characters, especially Barney.

In fact, aside from (presumably) marrying Andy, giving birth to Opie, and dying (of unspecified causes) -- all within perhaps a year or two of each other -- there are no details of any sort about her that are shared with the audience.

Andy had several love interests through the show's run, but his first romantic relationship on the series is Ellie Walker (Elinor Donahue).

Griffith later admitted that because he had a hard time showing affection on screen, the relationship did not appear to be real or believable.

source In Season Two, Andy dated a few women, including championship skeet-shooter Karen Moore, a cousin of Thelma Lou (only in one episode), and County Nurse Mary Simpson (played by two different actresses Julie Adams and Sue Ane Langdon).

In early Season Three, Andy dated Peggy McMillan (Joanna Moore), another nurse, who chalked up four appearances on the show.

On a number of occasions, Barney meddled into Andy's romantic life and tried to arrange dates for him, which invariably turned out to be ill-suited or embarrassing matches.

The movie explained that Andy has retired as Postal Inspector in Cleveland and returned home to see Opie into fatherhood and seek the office of sheriff again.

"[citation needed] On the lists created by About.com's Fatherhood section[2] Sheriff Andy Taylor is named the greatest TV father of all time.